It’s official. The 76ers have been sold, owner Comcast Spectacor announced Wednesday night after weeks of rumors.
A group led by billionaire Joshua Harris bought the Sixers.
"We are honored to have the opportunity to be affiliated with this storied franchise," said Harris.
Harris is the co-founder of New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC (which recently purchased the rights to American Idol) and was reported to be worth $1.2 billion by Forbes.com as of March 2011.
Despite being a New York guy now, Harris has Philly roots including having earned at bachelor's degree at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
"As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this City and the 76ers."
Terms of the deal weren’t made public but CSNPhilly.com reports that it could be worth about $280 million.
U.S. & World
The team was valued at $330 million by Forbes earlier this season.
As part of the deal, the Sixers will remain long-term at the Wells Fargo Center and will have a long-term cable deal reportedly through 2029.
Other members of the investor group include David Blitzer, a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, Art Wrubel and Jason Levien.
The buyers are using personal funds, Apollo and Blackstone are not involved in the transaction, according to Comcast-Spectacor.
"We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season’s accomplishments in the years ahead. The ownership group also looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Comcast-Spectacor."
Comcast-Spectacor will hold onto ownership of the Wells Fargo Center and the Flyers. The company had owned the 76ers since 1996.
Finalization of the deal is pending approval from the NBA's Board of Governors.
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